Does This Mean I'm a Writer?

As my friend and I were talking about which career paths interest us, and which employers might find us useful, she repeatedly told me that I would certainly be qualified for a position that involves writing.

I thanked her for her confidence in me, but assured her that I was more of a proofreader and an editor. Since my college days, I hadn't spent much time coming up with my own words, but I could be pretty good at correcting and improving the words of others. She has written as part of a job, my other girlfriend has written as part of a job, but my experience was minimal. In spite of my own objections and apprehension, I created my first blog post. Then another, and another...and now, almost three months in, I've published 14 entries. I'm surprisingly proud of myself!

Do I write every day? Not even close. Do I write about "important" political or social issues? Not really my thing. Do I write about my fondness for the Oxford Comma, even if only to annoy those who are opposed to it? Not yet (but don't rule that topic out). But I engage my brain and put my fingers to the keyboard and type. I might let a post sit overnight before I publish it, just to make sure I haven't left out anything I wanted to say. But I don't write a draft, then edit, then modify, then revise... I just write. I'll occasionally make notes about something I might want to talk about, but I don't have a journal filled with ideas. And no one is giving me money to write about their product or service.

I've realized that I was letting the title "writer" hold me back. I figured I wasn't a writer because I wasn't writing press releases or poetry or novels. But just because I haven't doesn't mean that I can't. I think that everyone can be a writer. It's not about making money at it or anyone thinking it's "good" or even having an audience for it. It's just about collecting your thoughts and transferring them to paper (or the electronic equivalent thereof). Heck, I can do that!

So now, I am a writer. And my cheerleader/coach is rediscovering the writer that she has always been. What shall I write about next?